BUTTERFLIES
 DRAGONFLIES
 HOVERFLIES
 BUMBLEBEES

Bumblebees
Hoverflies
Butterflies
Solitary Bees
Adur Bees, Wasps & Sawflies
Flies
Ladybirds
Beetles
Moths
Grasshoppers & Crickets
Damselflies & Dragonflies
Spiders

EVENTS

WILDLIFE REPORTS
 

30 June 2008
In the breezy sunshine I recorded over fifty butterflies for the second day this year with nine species seen on the Adur Levels and Anchor Bottom, Upper Beeding. A Cinnabar Moth fluttered rapidly on the towpath next to the River Adur halfway between Cuckoo's Corner and the Cement Works. 
Full Butterfly Report

29 June 2008
A Swift danced in the sky over the Dovecote Estate, Shoreham. In the late afternoon, two fresh Comma Butterflies courted over the Waterworks Road with an unexpected (they should have ceased in mid-June) pristine male Adonis Blue on the lower slopes of Mill Hill. Ten butterfly species were seen on a day too breezy for them. A large blue dragonfly hawked over the southern part of Buckingham Cutting and this was thought most likely to be a Southern Hawker. 
Full Butterfly Report

24 June 2008
Over the Lancing Ring dewpond and a male Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly dipped its head on to the surface of the water, and it was accompanied by a one third longer dragonfly in bright blue which was either the frequently seen Southern Hawker, or the locally scarce Emperor Dragonfly. Either of the latter two would have been first for the year. 
Adur Dragonflies 2008

23 June 2008
My first half a dozen Ringlet Butterflies of 2008 were discovered on a long grass verge on the Coastal Link Cyclepath south of the Cement Works, Upper Beeding, on the more sheltered western side of the cyclepath. They had not been recorded on the Adur Levels before on these Nature Notes pages. Meadow Brown Butterflies (33+) were frequently seen. Over fifty butterflies were seen for the first time this year of six species. 
Full Butterfly Report
Adur Butterflies: First Dates

A Snakelocks Anemone, Anemonia viridis, seen in the pool underneath the second groyne was unusual for Kingston Beach. 

22 June 2008
The first grasshoppers of the year were seen and heard on the lower slopes of Mill Hill, with my first definite sightings of two Marbled White Butterflies blown about in the Force 6 gusting to Gale Force 8. Eight species of butterfly were spotted. 
Full Butterfly Report

19 June 2008
Only 18 butterflies were seen on my Upper Beeding transect walk in the afternoon in sunny but quite windy conditions, but they included a beautiful pristineDark Green Fritillary sheltering in long grass.

On a day too breezy and cool for many butterflies my first Meadow Brown Butterfly of the year was spotted on the Pixie Path to Mill Hill. 
Full Butterfly Report
Adur Butterflies: First Dates

17 June 2008
On the southern orchid-covered bank of the Slonk Hill Cutting, my first Common Darter (dragonfly) of the year rested on a herb. On a passage trip to the Buckingham Cutting, I spotted my first bumblebee-mimic Volucella bombylans var. plumata hoverfly of 2008 and my first probable Marbled White Butterfly of the year. 

June 2008
A rare female Marbled Electric Ray, Torpedo marmorata, was captured in a trawl net by Worthing fisherman Brian Davey about eight miles off Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex.The ray which was about 60 cm long and can deliver a 220 volt electric shock. It was kept alive found a home at Brighton Sea Life Centre. 

This is the rarer of the two electric rays recorded in British seas and is extremely rare off Sussex. This fish can grow up to 60 cm in length. It is not known to breed in British seas and fish are likely to have migrated up the English Channel in summer.
BMLSS Sharks & Rays
Sussex Rare Fishes
Sussex Marine Life Reports 2008
BMLSS News Reports Spring 2008
BMLSS Shark News

15 June 2008
A seal was spotted in the River Adur lower estuary, first of all on the Sussex Wharf side of the river in the early evening from 8:30 pm. It then swam over to the scrapyard side (east of Monteum, where the fishing boats moor up and unload fish) and was seen for 45 minutes chasing after the fish in the river. The most likely species is the Common (or Harbour) Seal, Phoca vitulina. The tide height at 8:30 pm was 4.4 metres.

14 June 2008

Venue: Coronation Green, Shoreham-by-Sea
Admission: FREE

Adur was one of the UK leaders in presenting an environmental exhibition of World Oceans Day on Coronation Green, Shoreham-by-Sea, as part of the Adur Festival

11 June 2008
One White Admiral Butterfly was seen on the wing in Hoe Wood at Woods Mill, Small Dole. 

This butterfly is not normally recorded on these Nature Notes pages as it is not to be found in the lower Adur Valley. This is the first record. 

9 June 2008
A very rare Spurge Hawk-moth, Hyles euphorbiae, was caught at Shoreham.

It is a sporadic migrant to southern England from south Europe, there are only a handful of recent records. 
Adur Moths

8 June 2008
My first Cinnabar Moth of the year was seen on the Buckingham Cutting, southern bank.
Adur Moths
 

6 June 2008 My first Large Skipper of the year looked very fresh and quite lively on the lower slopes of Mill Hill, but one of the two Dingy Skippers was very dingy and worn. Dropwort was just beginning to flower. Full Butterfly Report Adur Skippers

5 June 2008 A few Bee Orchids have appeared on the verge in Mill Hill Road where most of them had been destroyed.  Destruction Report Adur Orchids

4 June 2008
A strong flying male Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly over the path through the southern bank of the Slonk Hill Cutting, is always pleasing to see. 

3 June 2008
A small Worm Pipefish, Nerophis lumbriciformis, wriggling under a rock on Kingston Beach, was an unusual discovery on this or any local shore. 
British Marine Life Study Society

Five Baby Coots with their parents were noted on Brooklands Boating Lake (east Worthing-Lancing border) near Tootsville Railway Station (miniature railway). 

1 June 2008
When the yellow carpet of Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis comosa, was seen to be rapidly fading on the lower slopes of Mill Hill, the thin strip of intermittent horse pasture to the east of Mill Hill, adjacent and parallel to the A27 dual carriageway on the northern side, was covered in swathes of Bird's Foot Trefoil.

Six blue species of butterfly were recorded included 23 each of Small Blues and Adonis Blues and one Brown Argus. Herbs recorded for the first time this year included Fairy Flax, Wild Thyme, and four mystery Orchids were seen on the Mill Hill Cutting southern bank for the first recorded in the Shoreham boundaries. There are seven votes for the Southern Marsh Orchid, Dactylorhiza praetermissa, previously: Orchis praetermissa.
 

Full Butterfly Report
Adur Butterfly List 2008
Full Wild Flower Report
Adur Orchids
Chalkhill Fungi